


quarters on the floor

by quantum27



Series: flynn has friends (or self indulgent non-legacy au with original encom crew) [1]
Category: Tron (Movies), Tron - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Male Character, Dissociation, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Intervention, Panic Attacks, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Swearing, a big timeline change cause flynn mentions hes very very sleep deprived, because 80s, great, kevin flynn has big bi vibes. why do all 80s films have gay/bi vibes, lora is awesome, that's a tag? - Freeform, they don't explicitly call it dissociation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25736368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantum27/pseuds/quantum27
Summary: Flynn needs help. (Or the start of Flynn's friends being his support group because he needs it not to make questionable decisions, otherwise known as the KFFKSS)
Relationships: Alan Bradley & Kevin Flynn, Lora Baines-Bradley & Kevin Flynn, Lora Baines-Bradley/Alan Bradley, Maybe possible implied kevin/alan/lora, but mostly flynn is a useless bi and has crushes on his friends
Series: flynn has friends (or self indulgent non-legacy au with original encom crew) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866916
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	quarters on the floor

“The sign says ‘Private Party’.”

“ _ Alan _ , does it look like there’s anyone in there to you? Flynn just puts it up when he wants some time alone with his games.” Lora’s tone was evenly tempered, but a clear bite of annoyance was in there. 

They were standing outside of  _ Flynn’s _ , the neon sign was off, but the arcade inside was bright with accompanying music. The only thing it was missing was the crowd of people.

“I was just pointing it out.” Alan responded, feeling chastised, but still, he continued, “Are you absolutely sure this can’t wait till tomorrow?” 

“Can it wa- No. And besides, it’s only eight or so. It’s not my fault you didn’t tell me ‘till after dinner.” Lora raised an eyebrow at him, and he held up his hands to show he relented. 

She reached for the doorknob and twisted it several times. 

“Locked.” 

“Well I guess we can just go hom-Ow! Hey! That one was a joke, there was no need to hit me.” 

She simply shook her head with a small smile and then reached into her coat pocket pulling out what seemed to be a thick wallet. “I had a feeling this might happen.” She stated as she zipped it open to reveal that it had small metal rods with various hook-like shapes on the end. 

“Lora…” Alan said, apprehensive, “Do I want to know why you have a lockpicking set?” 

She had pulled her selected tools out with ease. It was obvious she had done this a few times. 

“My roommate in college had a bad habit of locking our room despite the fact I would tell her I’d only be out for a few minutes. She was so paranoid...one time I was just stopping by the room across from us to give a friend of mine a gift- And I turned around and the door was locked.” 

Alan let out a slight huff of laughter, readjusting his glasses, “You never cease to amaze. Of all the things I thought you’d share with Flynn...lockpicking as a skill...is not one of them.” 

Lora couldn’t help but laugh at that, “Please- I tried to teach him one time, he was hopeless. Which was kinda surprising but- yeah, digital locks, yes, physical locks, no.” 

The door clicked as Lora finished her work, carefully putting away her tools. 

“I can say that you do have potential for learning some of my tricks.” She flashed a more real smile at him this time, breaking through her agitation and worry. Alan couldn’t help but blush and shake his head though. 

They slowly entered the arcade. There was a distinct tonal shift from the last two times they’d been there ( _ That Night… _ both arriving there, and heading back for a celebratory night of gaming...not that Alan remembered much considering he kinda passed out accidentally on the couch up in Flynn’s room. Lora apparently had also come and slept by him...Flynn was _ still _ awake in the morning.) 

Despite the blaring music and sound effects popping out of every cabinet, the lack of people, and the tone of the couple left them with an unsettled feeling. The fact they were also literally breaking into what seemed to be a person’s private time was uncomfortable. 

It didn’t take long to find Flynn. He was sitting on the floor in front of the  _ Asteroids  _ cabinet and a disturbing amount of quarters as well. He seemed to be methodically putting quarters in bankrolls. The motion seemed well-practiced, almost robotic as the man seemed to stare blankly into nowhere. The circles under his eyes were deep; deeper than usual, a deep purple looking more like a bruise than anything else. 

So deep in his stare of nowhere that he didn’t seem to notice the couple even when they came to only a few feet in front of him. 

“ _ Shit. _ ” Lora hissed quietly. Alan’s eyes widened as he glanced at her, and then back at Flynn. “I’ve only ever seen him like this...once...maybe twice?” She said mostly to herself, half to Alan. Then she turned to her partner, and made deliberate eye contact. He nodded back to her; as per usual, Lora was going to take the lead. 

She carefully took another step towards Flynn, and crouched in front of the pile of quarters. 

“Flynn, hey. You there, hon?” Her tone was soft, but loud enough to be heard over the arcade’s ambiance. 

The man made no indication he’d heard her. She continued her gentle words but got slightly louder. Eventually, after a minute or two, the vacant look in Flynn’s eyes cleared.

“Lora…?” The surprise in his tone was clear, and then his gaze wandered, “Alan?” 

He looked between them in slight disbelief, “Wh-What are you two doing here?” Despite the fact that his attention was now being held, his hands still kept their repetitive motion. A constant stream of quarters flying through his fingers. 

“Alan said you told him on accident that you hadn’t slept in four days.” Lora snapped. 

“Oo-h geez. Straight to the point as always.” Flynn muttered, his hands slowing for a moment before going back to their quickness, “I’m fine. I’m fine. I haven’t started hallucinating yet. It’s fine.” 

The couple blankly stared at the man for what felt like forever. 

“ _That can_ **_not_** _be where the bar is!_ ” Alan half-shouted, arms stretched wide, “Are you being serious right now?” 

Flynn winced, “Easy on the volume, man.” 

“Are you kidding me- This- This entire place is way louder than I’m be-” 

“Alan.” Lora said in a firm tone, grasping his arm. Slowly he brought his arms down, letting out a frustrated sigh. 

Flynn’s eyes darted back between them; something akin to panic starting to creep into his posture, but not quite. A gradual anxiety. His hands kept their motion. 

“Is this an inter-vention?” Flynn said with a very exhaustion produced voice crack. 

“Yes, I think you can damn well call it an intervention.” Alan’s tone was still agitated, but it was still all in concern for this man that he was beginning to consider a  _ real _ friend. 

Then as an aside, he turned to his partner and apologized, “I’m sorry- I didn’t think he would be- Well. Like this!” He emphasized with a firm motion towards the man with his free arm. 

Lora’s grip on his arm tightened for a second;  _ I forgive you. _ Then she turned back to the matter at hand. 

“Is this about the laser-program world-thing?” 

It had been a month before he had told them about it. The entire thing. The whole getting sucked into a fully realized world in the ENCOM computer system. He’d even admitted that he doubted he would ever tell them at all. 

There was a slight delay in his response as he seemed to process the question. “Yes. A lil’ bit. Small bit. Heh...Bit...oh god… _ Ram... _ ” There was a clear loss of focus, and Lora snapped her fingers in front of his face. 

“Focus.  _ Focus. _ Alright. You with us? Ok. What else? That’s a small bit. What else.” 

He was quiet again, this time a clear guilty look plastered on his face...he didn’t want to tell them. 

Alan’s breath caught in his throat as a flurry of anxiety-filled words then began to spill from his fellow programmer’s mouth. 

“I don’t know what they’re going to promote me to, now that I’m back- And I know they’re going to- They’re gonna make me be in charge- And that’s a lot. That’s a helluva lot, man- I’ve. I’ve got business sense- hello, small business owner here but- ENCOM’s big, real big. And I know I wanted the credit that I deserved, everything that I should’ve gotten. Or what I wanted instead to start up my own company- And it’s great- Really- Radical, even- But, uh, well, it’s a little overwhelming. It’s- It’s a lot overwhelming, actually. It’s- It’s not something  _ I’m _ used to. I’m. This isn’t something I do-”

His hands had started violently shaking, quarters spilling back onto the floor in the process, “And then add in the. The MCP, and Tron, and Yori and they’re great- And you’re great. And you’re too good for me- I don’t- Don’t deserve it- Technically it’s my fault- All those programs dying-  _ Ram...Clu, even- _ And I even- I de-rezzed-  **killed** some. And I- I- It’s  _ so many emotions.  _ I’ve been- I’ve been living in a haze before and now it’s all at once- Fuck- Fu- Fuck, I- uh-” his hands had fully dropped everything, and still were shaking, though now in firmly grasped fists. 

There was a sudden silence. It was painfully loud. Yes, the arcade’s noise was present, but it seemed...so utterly quiet in comparison. 

“It’s. It’s so much. I’m not. I’m not like this. I don’t  _ do this. _ I compartmentalize and move on, I should- I should be doing that. And I’m not.” He settled his hands on his legs. His fingers slowly unclenched, red and blotchy from how hard he had gripped them. 

“Alright,” Lora finally said after another moment of silence, “We can work with this. But right now...right now you need some sleep, Kevin.” 

There was a noticeable flinch as she said his first name, but it seemed to get the point across as he nodded.

* * *

The first step to getting the exhausted programmer to sleep was getting him to the bed. His body was sluggish, and unresponsive, leaving the couple to awkwardly grasp him by the armpits, as they stumbled up the stairs to his bedroom. 

Flynn was like a ragdoll when they placed him on the bed. His head lolling to one side, an arm there, a leg there. 

Pleased to get him into the bed, Lora stated, “I’m going to go shut down the house lights, stay with him, Alan.” 

Flynn’s quiet voice drifted through the air, “Leave the machines on. I like to sleep to their noise.” 

Lora nodded in response as she headed back downstairs to shut down the arcade. 

Alan, in the meantime, turned back to the programmer. The first thing that seemed obvious to him was to take off Flynn’s sneakers. It resulted in some muttering from the man he couldn’t quite hear; possibly snark. After he did that and threw the shoes wherever he pondered for a bit. Flynn was already in what looked like comfortable clothes. A worn-out t-shirt, and jeans that were rough enough they might as well be pajama pants. Then after a moment, he took off his own shoes and plopped beside Flynn’s right side (the bouncing of the bed making the sleep-deprived groan loudly.)

“Wha-t’re you doin’, man?” Flynn asked, face half squished against the bed. 

“To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. Winging it? Anyways- Surprise! We’re having a sleepover, Flynn.” He punctuated the sentence with sarcastic jazz hands. 

“I don’ nee’ babysitters.” 

“Good luck, telling that to Lora, hot-shot.” 

Flynn managed a snort; muffled by the bed. Alan carefully took off his glasses and put them on the bedside table by him. 

By the time Lora had come back from her task, Alan had made himself as comfortable as he could...and Flynn hadn’t moved from his ragdoll position. 

She took the scene nonchalantly, taking off her shoes and glasses much like Alan, and then laying to Flynn’s left. 

“If I weren’ so tire’ I might’ve made an  _ ina-pprop-riate _ joke by no-w. But. One-liners are hard when my brain is fu-zz.”

* * *

Kevin Flynn woke up feeling better than he had in days, though still technically terrible. He had also woken up between two...very attractive people who were also his friends, and was wondering if perhaps he’d managed to have completed the one bisexual steryotype that straight people always managed to think of first before anything else. And while it wasn’t an entirely terrible idea, the previous night’s events filtered slowly back through his brain. 

Somehow they’d managed to get him into bed before midnight...which was entirely unheard of in the world of all things Flynn. 

Speaking of the devils, they were both still asleep, and he took a moment to study each of them; almost as an exercise to get his brain going. He would’ve just gotten up...but they were quite...tangled. 

They were all still wearing proper clothes rather than any sleeping wear of any sort. Therefore they were also all thoroughly rumpled. 

He’d seen Lora’s sleeping face plenty of times; her stress lines managing to finally get a slight rest. Her hair was askew everywhere. 

And Alan...well he’d seen Tron sleeping. And he was actually surprised at the difference. Even while Tron was sleeping he seemed on guard; ready to wake at a moment's notice. Alan on the other hand, was peaceful, no furrow of the eyebrow, or even the slight grimace that tended to line his face. 

After his observations were complete he relaxed again. His eyes once more became heavy, and well, what the hell, a little more sleep would do him some good.

* * *

  
  


“Is this...another intervention?” Flynn asked skeptically as he descended to his office from his bedroom. His hair was wet and dripping from his shower, his robe over a tank top and shorts. 

Lora and Alan were sitting by his desk...well, Alan was awkwardly leaning/sitting on his desk but- 

Their postures were exactly the same as parents who were disappointed in their child. Flynn felt like he was coming home from school, only to get punished for getting a  _ B+ _ instead of an  _ A. _ (In his mind he sent a mental flip off to the past version of his dad and the way he acted before he was in highschool.) 

“You could call it that.” Alan said.

“Geewhiz.” Flynn replied.

“We’re gonna talk to you about you and secrets, Flynn.” Lora asserted. 

“Oh, joy.” 

“Look, Alan and I talked it over while you were in the shower, and I think it would be good that you should be held accountable for them.” 

Flynn frowned, a flare of defensiveness overwhelming him for a second, before he took a breath, “Alright, shoot your shot.” 

“Alright,” Lora sent a quick glance towards her partner, “Kevin Flynn, you are both the best and worst secret keeper I’ve ever met. Which should be a paradox- but it isn’t. So. Alan and I have decided we’re gonna hold you accountable. You’re allowed to have your secret projects and the like. But we’re gonna push you to make sure you’re telling us at least one of us something if we think we need to.”

Flynn squinted, “You’re gonna...Peer Pressure me?” 

The couple seemed slightly sheepish. 

“I suppose? Yes.” Alan affirmed. 

“And not just us-” Lora added, “We’re hoping to get, uh, Tron and Yori on it too.” 

Flynn let out a laugh, “Oh man, I haven’t even had any coffee yet- And you’re forming a posse. You could call it the ‘Keep Flynn From Keeping Secrets Squad’ Oooooh, do you like that alliteration? I think it’s kinda ni-” He stopped mid-sentence and gaped for a moment, “Wait.  _ Tron and Yori? _ You’re gonna let me go back in!?” There was a sort of manic glee in his realization.

Lora raised an eyebrow. “Yes about this next bit. I figured that if we find out you’re keeping a secret that could be harmful...or should be shared with others. Whether due to safety reasons...or maybe so you just don’t have a breakdown- We could...limit your time when it comes to going into the system.” 

“Basically, we’re gonna ground you if you don’t do good.” Alan added with an all too over satisfied grin. 

“You wouldn’t-” His voice raised an octave. 

“Oh, I would, and I will if I have to Flynn.” Lora warned.

Flynn huffed and crossed his arms, thinking it over. He’d always been prone to keeping secrets, probably due to the fact that his parents  _ had _ been strict before he’d gone to high school and seemed to finally trust him. (and wasn’t that a full one-eighty) And being both good and bad at keeping secrets was surprisingly true. Despite the games he had been developing being a secret, Dillinger had still stolen them. He always tended to blurt out vague information, but enough that if you put together the pieces, you had a beautiful puzzle that resulted in a revealed secret. 

“Alright..” He straightened and placed his hands on his hips, “Your ‘Keep Flynn from Keeping Secrets Squad’ gets a green light from me.” 

“We’re not going to call it that.” Alan said automatically. 

“KFFKSS is kinda an awful acronym.” Lora agreed. 

“What, Kh-ffff-ik-sss? No it’s nice, it’s catchy. I like it. It’s my intervention I think. I think I should choose the name.”

Their banter continued the rest of the morning, as Flynn offered to make them a simple breakfast (and coffee). And for the first time in awhile Flynn felt like he was...good. Really good.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright.  
> So this is a start of a series which is basically me going 'why aren't there more happy aus with the 80s tron crew?' and then realizing....legacy.  
> And don't get me wrong, I love legacy, i grew up with it. But i kinda think i might like the original movie more. Idk i've watched it way too many times now. And there's a multitude of ways that legacy could've prevented, but i thought the idea of Flynn just relying on his friends and not hoarding his secrets would fix that and also be kinda adorable.  
> Uhhhhh other thoughts. I thought for a while what type of panic response that would fit Kevin Flynn best, and I thought disassociation would be best. I think it also contrasts nicely just with younger!flynn having this problem meanwhile older legacy!flynn is like a meditation master. he also babbles because. flynn talks. a lot.  
> also flynn probably has a machine to sort his quarters into rolls but finds the action of sorting them calming.  
> also lora is kinda bamf. good for her. nice power dynamic parallel with tron/yori vs lora/alan. i guess. uuuhhh i guess that it for now, if you have questions? shoot.


End file.
